Few marketing campaigns purely are viral. Most comprise both viral (peer-to-peer transmission) and non-viral (firm-initiated transmission) components. Unfortunately, current metrics for assessing viral-campaign performance seldom differentiate between these components, potentially overstating the true contribution made by the viral component. Moreover, reach (number of users who received the content) is a time-based metric that typically is favored at the expense of campaign sharing, which fundamentally is a generation-based metric (transmission of content to others). This paper presents and tests a mathematical model that addresses these issues, thereby providing a more accurate and valid means for assessing campaign performance.

A report on Warc's adspend and economic forecasts for the years ahead. View Summary

A report on Warc's adspend and economic forecasts for the years ahead.

Adspend around the world is set to see consistent growth over the years to 2015, reflecting a general improvement in the broader economy, according to latest forecasts from Warc.

Overall, adspend is predicted to increase by +5.2% in 2014, reaching $554.5bn at current prices for the year.

This is a significant jump from 2013's growth rate of 3.2%, and is set to be reinforced by another strong year in 2015, during which global adspend is forecast to rise by a still higher 5.5%.

The report concludes with forecasts for individual regions.

4

Direct Mail: Email is fast but letter is better

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Crawford Hollingworth, Market Leader, Quarter 4, 2013, pp. 44-47

This article looks into the continuing power of physical post over digital communications in direct mail. View Summary

This article looks into the continuing power of physical post over digital communications in direct mail. Response rates to letters are typically 30 times better than email and despite its additional cost, letters still account for over a third of direct marketing expenditure. The reason for its strength is likely down to greater salience and higher attention rates compared with email, which are much more easily ignored. Advice for successful slow mail is to make the envelope attention-grabbing by using blank, white envelopes and postage stamps. With the text inside, it suggests using simple language and font styles, and applying bold text and colours to draw attention to key information. Examples of direct mail campaigns are included, which highlight the benefits of personalisation and how different variables affect action.

A report on Warc's adspend and economic forecasts for the years ahead. View Summary

A report on Warc's adspend and economic forecasts for the years ahead.

The global advertising sector will expand in 2013, with overall expenditure rising by 4% year-on-year.

In 2012, adspend increased by an estimated 3.9% year-on-year.

Forecasters agree that the global economy will continue to grow by 3.2% over 2013.

The report notes regional trends in marketer sentiment and adspend.

Fast-growth nations in the global south, whether from Asia-Pacific, MENA and Latin America, are forecast quicker GDP and adspend growth than that of mature markets, with Europe predicted to be the slowest-growing region.

That said, overall global growth is expected to quicken in 2014, compared to the previous two years.

6

InterContinental Hotels Group: How personalization is driving growth

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Low Lai Chow, Event Reports, Loyalty World Asia, December 2012

This article outlines how InterContinental Hotels Group adapted to changing consumer lifestyles and a demand for more personalised messaging. View Summary

This article outlines how InterContinental Hotels Group adapted to changing consumer lifestyles and a demand for more personalised messaging. A new loyalty platform, LoyaltyConnect, was established to serve as a 'centralised repository' for transactions, CRM and to allow the hotel group to segment its members. Personas were then created for the most valuable segments, so hotel staff could quickly identify those guests who should be enrolled. IHG reports that personalising messages based on segment analysis has delivered strong results.

7

The High Stakes of Sweepstakes: Too Much of a Good Thing Can Demotivate Digital Consumers

In preference-matching contexts—specifically, where people enter hoping to find some particular product or service they already know themselves to prefer—more choices should increase the likelihood that they will be successful in their search. View Summary

In preference-matching contexts—specifically, where people enter hoping to find some particular product or service they already know themselves to prefer—more choices should increase the likelihood that they will be successful in their search. Increasing the number of choices, however, actually increases the cognitive workload of consumers, and they may decide consciously or unconsciously simply to apply heuristics—such as clicking the delete button on complex e-mails. This study tested these two alternative theories in a large-field experiment focusing on advertising an experience brand (France as a vacation destination) to Americans under multiple treatment conditions. The findings supported the theory that fewer choices increase behavioral responses, but this effect reversed when an e-mail included a sweepstakes offer. Consequently, the authors found that “it depends on what is offered in conjunction with the direct-sales offers” may be the more accurate perspective than the “less-is-more” proposition.

8

A Content Analysis of Registration Processes on Websites: How Advertisers Gather Information to Customize Marketing Communications

The proper implementation and design of registration pages is a crucial consideration in the development of websites for two reasons: First, users often navigate through them to receive future marketing communications. View Summary

The proper implementation and design of registration pages is a crucial consideration in the development of websites for two reasons: First, users often navigate through them to receive future marketing communications. Second, advertisers can gain valuable contact information through registration processes that allow them to customize marketing communications. This content analysis investigates the implementation and design of such processes by comparing the registration processes established by large and small websites, as well as websites of pure play companies versus click-and-mortar companies. Differences emerge across several variables. The results have implications for advertising researchers and practitioners and suggest some registration process best practices.

9

OgilvyOne Viewpoint #11 - The enormity of email

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Andy Goldman, WPP Atticus Awards, Highly Commended, 2008, pp. 16-19

In today's era, when consumers not only choose but control their media consumption, email has emerged as the rising star of direct marketing. View Summary

In today's era, when consumers not only choose but control their media consumption, email has emerged as the rising star of direct marketing. Andy Goldman discusses how email can grow from now with heatmapping techniques and encouraging the opt-in process.

10

Foxtel – Gossip Girl: The Chosen

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Warc Word of Mouth Marketing Awards, Best Targeting Award, 2008

FOXTEL, an Australian pay-TV provider, was launching Gossip Girl, an American drama set in Manhattan's Upper East Side, on its main entertainment channel, FOX8. View Summary

FOXTEL, an Australian pay-TV provider, was launching Gossip Girl, an American drama set in Manhattan's Upper East Side, on its main entertainment channel, FOX8. The show follows the friendships, loves and scandalous lives of New York's young and reckless. 'You're nobody until you're talked about' is the tagline for the show, and the use of an exclusive, word of mouth platform therefore aligned perfectly with the show's plot line. Dramas hadn't performed strongly on FOX8 previously, and the launch campaign for Gossip Girl aimed to take a completely new strategy. This involved creating a targeted online community hub; seeding content and key information from the show to the community; harnessing word-of-mouth through 'ripple' to raise awareness of the show and content to truly influential people; and to empower 'influentials' to spread news and content amongst their social connections. The campaign targeted females with an appetite for being 'in the know'. Over the course of the six-week Gossip Girl campaign, 150,000 emails were sent, and psychometric testing was used to identify respondents as 'influencers'. As a result of the word of mouth generated, FOX8 almost doubled its primetime share for 2007, recording 4.0% prime time share, with its share for the timeslot up 5.6 share points to 6.7%.

Mobile marketing has often been trumpeted as a medium with enormous potential, but it has, so far at least, only had a limited impact among planners. View Summary

Mobile marketing has often been trumpeted as a medium with enormous potential, but it has, so far at least, only had a limited impact among planners. This article discusses a variety of case studies to assess how mobile can be used effectively. The first details Kraft's use of mobile - in combination with print and TV - to encourage sampling of its German coffee, where an opt-in campaign resulted in 450,000 responses from consumers. The second discusses the advent of a downloadable cookbook by Arla, which was accessed by some 80,000 people in Sweden. Thirdly, deodorant brand Lynx/Axe created a mobile campaign featuring a variety of features that could be downloaded from the web to help men in the 'mating game' - receiving 100,000 downloads in the target market of the UK, and double that number from elsewhere. Finally, a campaign for Italian gum brand Vigorsol, based around a series of embarrassing sound-effects for mobiles, recorded 500,000 registered downloads, with a greater number of users thought to have accessed the mobile features virally.

12

Your mobile marketing future is now

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Thomas Wailgum, ANA Magazine, October 2008, pp. 76-80

Brand marketers no longer need to be convinced of the power in the mobile marketing channel. The world now has more than 2.4 billion mobile subscribers, and users have become more accepting of advertising on their phones. View Summary

Brand marketers no longer need to be convinced of the power in the mobile marketing channel. The world now has more than 2.4 billion mobile subscribers, and users have become more accepting of advertising on their phones. Wireless networks are faster, and higher 3G data-transmission speeds have made mobile Web surfing more palpable and text messaging easier. Expertise in the channel has never been higher and the devices themselves can handle almost any mobile campaign a marketer can dream up. Having a WAP site is critical and marketers need to be aware than phones now have browsers, making mobile internet a more compelling experience. Knowing your audience is key and many rules that apply to good web marketing, also apply here. In closer study, Procter & Gamble demonstrates how they approach a mobile marketing intiative.

This article discusses digital advertising, in terms of what it assumes, how it works and how it can be measured. View Summary

This article discusses digital advertising, in terms of what it assumes, how it works and how it can be measured. It argues that the framework for digital fits in with the model emphasising persuasion, involvement, salience and promotion, but that each of these conceptual elements has a behavioural counterpart: explore, play, share and transact. Successful digital advertising should include elements of both sides. A study involving 600 pieces of digital creative work, 23000 online interviews and 250 brands, found that most digital advertising is, in fact, rather conservative. Current campaigns are similar to direct marketing, with low clickthrough rates. The most effect ads combine different models, and when they achieve genuine interaction, can drive consumer involvement and build strong brand relationships.

14

Marry branding and response for better ad payback

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Lucas Donat, Admap, May 2008, Issue 494, pp. 19-21

This article describes ROI-Positive Brand Advertising, based on the idea that branding and direct response advertising are not alternatives, but need to go together. View Summary

This article describes ROI-Positive Brand Advertising, based on the idea that branding and direct response advertising are not alternatives, but need to go together. Increasingly, direct marketers need their brand to be trusted, while brand advertisers want the accountability of measurable response. ROI-Positive Brand Advertising involves an advertising narrative building to a Call To Action (CTA) from the consumer. The advertising narrative builds emotional trust, the CTA reassures the consumer that it is safe to respond at once, and responses are fully tracked through to purchase. The approach marries the best features of traditional brand advertising and direct accountability. Two successful examples are described: eHarmony.com (an online dating company) and SouthBeachDiet,com (the website for a self help book). In both cases, techniques which supported and differentiated instead of degrading the brand led to response rates far higher than those normally achieved by direct marketing. It is argued that the intimacy achievable on the web can create close personal relationships, provided the consumer's trust in the brand is not jeopardised.

15

Direct mail: a premature obituary

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Drayton Bird, Admap, November 2007, Issue 488, pp. 33-35

In the UK direct mail volumes have been dropping, but in 2006 the medium still accounted for 12.2% of advertising spend. View Summary

In the UK direct mail volumes have been dropping, but in 2006 the medium still accounted for 12.2% of advertising spend. Email marketing is growing fast, but is still dwarfed by direct mail, both in U.S. and UK. In the U.S. in 2006, $59.6 billion was spent on direct mail, $4 billion up on the previous year: this compares with $70 billion on TV, $12 billion online, and $1.5 billion on email. While direct mail and email rank below only personal contact (face-to-face or telephone) in terms of effectiveness, it ranks above TV, radio and press. 'Effectiveness' is here considered in terms of five factors: individual impact, creative potential, interaction, cost per message delivered, and share of voice. Email's initial advantage over direct mail has greatly diminished because it is at least as intrusive as direct mail, perhaps more; there is far more of it; it is far quicker and easier to delete and spam filters emasculate most selling messages. Direct mail will be with us a long time - not least because of the advantages of media synergy.

16

Will people watch advertising on their mobile phones?

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Andrew Green, Warc Media FAQ, June 2007

Around one-third of the world's population now has a mobile phone, and this figure is expected to reach 48% by 2011. View Summary

Around one-third of the world's population now has a mobile phone, and this figure is expected to reach 48% by 2011. While, in many ways, mobile phones seem to be an ideal medium for advertisers, this has not proved to be in the case in reality, as both consumers and marketers have expressed some caution in the best way to develop the market. The launch of new products offering mobile users cheaper services in exchange for viewing advertising may change this, especially if these services can be effectively targeted so as to benefit both consumers and advertisers alike.

17

Consumers’ intentions to opt in to SMS advertising: a cross-national study of young Americans and Koreans

This paper examines the differences between American young consumers and their Korean counterparts’ interests in accepting SMS advertising via their mobile phones. View Summary

This paper examines the differences between American young consumers and their Korean counterparts’ interests in accepting SMS advertising via their mobile phones. The appeal of using the mobile phone as an advertising medium is its accessibility because it can pinpoint the locations of mobile phone users. The results of the study provide preliminary evidence that consumers’ attitudes and beliefs do have significant positive relationships with intentions to opt in to the new medium. The theoretical model for the study is based on employing the theory of reasoned action as the underlying structure to operationalise the conceptual constructs proposed in the diffusion theory. The study identifies the potential of a new research domain in advertising, presents a conceptual framework for its examination and suggests the importance of constructs under study.

18

Case study: re-branding success for ITN Source

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Phil Williams, Admap, December 2006, Issue 478, pp. 56-57

In June 2006, ITN (Independent Television News) launched a new corporate identity. As part of this global launch ITN Archive became ITN Source, the world's leading aggregator of moving image content, and launched its own re-branded identity. View Summary

In June 2006, ITN (Independent Television News) launched a new corporate identity. As part of this global launch ITN Archive became ITN Source, the world's leading aggregator of moving image content, and launched its own re-branded identity. Phil Williams, managing director of Rocketseed (UK) Ltd, describes how intelligent email was/is being used as part of a integrated marketing campaign to create recognition and drive web-site traffic.

Using Psychological Reactance as the framework, this study sought to understand consumer attitudes towards two major direct marketing techniques: unsolicited commercial e-mail and postal direct mail. In particular, audience perceptions of advertising intrusiveness, perceived loss of control (as conceptualized by Psychological Reactance), and irritation regarding the direct marketing techniques were investigated. The results of this survey study (N=119) indicated that recipients perceived unsolicited e-mails as more intrusive and irritating than postal direct mail. This study contributed to the theory of Psychological Reactance by indicating that recipients did not feel a loss of control regarding spam, thus Psychological Reactance was not fully supported in the context of these marketing communication techniques. Suggestions for direct marketing practitioners conclude the paper.

20

Recall Effect of Short Message Service as a Complementary Marketing Communications Instrument

A quasi-experimental study was designed to investigate the recall effect of Short Message Service (SMS) as a complementary marketing communications instrument. View Summary

A quasi-experimental study was designed to investigate the recall effect of Short Message Service (SMS) as a complementary marketing communications instrument. An experimental group (EG) was formed, consisting of people who had called an SMS number mentioned in a car brand campaign. A control group was formed using respondents who replied on a television quiz question through SMS. For both groups unaided and aided recall for two similar car brand campaigns was recorded. In campaign 1 no SMS support was used; campaign 2 was the original SMS-supported campaign. Using an omnibus x2 test, the data show a statistically significant effect supporting the hypothesis that SMS, as a relatively cheap complementary instrument, can boost the recall effect of an advertising campaign. Furthermore, two limitations of the study are discussed: limited control regarding respondents’ exposure to the communication campaigns and the relatively long time elapsed between exposure to the campaigns and recall measurement, which necessitate further research.

21

Affiliate marketing demystified

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Maz Darvish, Admap, April 2006, Issue 471, pp. 55-57

Maz Darvash, chief executive of the Internet Business Group and AffiliateFuture, explains how to get the best out of affiliate marketing. View Summary

Maz Darvash, chief executive of the Internet Business Group and AffiliateFuture, explains how to get the best out of affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing involves promoting products on-line using a network of on-line publishers (affiliate sites) on a payment by performance basis. He explains the pros and cons of working in-house or using an affiliate marketing network and the responsibilities of all three parties (merchant, network and affiliate). He also provides a case study of the charity, World Vision.

Mark Joy, joint MD of sales promotion agency, Gasoline, sees 'brand activation' as bringing the brand experience to life in an enjoyable, relevant and engaging way. He describes the factors driving 'BA' and how it fits with new models of communication and brand choice. Using examples from Pot Noodles to Norwich Union he explains why promotional agencies are well suited to take a pivotal role in experiential marketing through brand activation.

As a direct marketing tool, electronic Short Message Service (SMS) is likely to surpass internet-based advertising before the end of 2006. View Summary

As a direct marketing tool, electronic Short Message Service (SMS) is likely to surpass internet-based advertising before the end of 2006. This article profiles heavy and light consumer acceptors of SMS direct advertising texts and SMS direct marketing prompts to watch TV programs. The article includes empirical findings of practitioner campaign evaluations of SMS-TV direct marketing campaigns in U.K. and U.S. markets. The results support the view that younger consumers higher in social class are the most willing to accept SMS direct advertising text and respond favorably to SMS-TV integrated marketing communications. The article closes with a call for true experiments to validate consumer acceptance and use of SMS-TV interactive, commercial, communications via split-run testing.

Five short essays covering various aspects of brand development: email marketing, why brands deliver value, the appropriate strategy for reaching 'Generation Y', marketing to the Hispanic community, and why Apples' iPod is successful. Each essay is by a business school student or graduate and is introduced by his/her professor.

25

Adoption of digital video recorders and advertising: threats or opportunities?

It can be said that every time the technological communication environment changes so to does the advertising environment. View Summary

It can be said that every time the technological communication environment changes so to does the advertising environment. Advertisers who do not carefully monitor and adapt to the technological communication environment run the risk of losing millions of dollars on inefficient advertising expenditures. The digital video recorder (DVR) is the latest technological innovation to which advertisers must adapt. By easily allowing the viewer to skip commercials the DVR is a device that could have potentially huge implications on advertising creative and placement strategies. The DVR is a clear threat to the advertising industry, but there are some opportunities for advertisers that can be explored because of DVR technology. The opportunities exist through an interdependent relationship between television networks and advertisers in creating a communication environment that is economically beneficial to both entities. The focus of this article is on understanding how and why DVR's are being used by the audience and examines the potential threats and opportunities that advertisers must be aware of in adapting to this technology.